Paths Not Walked: Sasuke and Karui
by Sir Le Fay
Summary: A Sasuke versus Team Samui story -atleast, at the beginning-. No promises of any romance. Between anyone. Unsettled grudges. Set somewhere post Kage Summit Arc, pre Fourth Great Shinobi World War. An Uchiha versus a squad of Cloud Ninjas'...


**Authors Note: Nothing besides the plot and dialogue belongs to me. All characters belong to the creator and owner of Naruto.**

**Story background: This is set Post Kage Summit, but pre Fourth Great Shinobi World War.**

** Also, one final point, this was thought up after watching the part of Naruto that team Samui enters' in. I have not read the latest Naruto chapters (not for at least twenty chapters, I think)… So all my characterization stems from what I have read—and the brief two minute fight with Team Samui (minus Samui) versus Naruto Sakura, and Sai, in the Anime.**

**Please enjoy the story :).**

Sasuke walked with calm determination through the forest. He was well aware of the three ninja tracking him. However, they were not aware that he knew. For now he was content feigning ignorance as he continued his trek through the winding forest path. Once they reached a battleground of his choosing, or he determined that he was far enough away from the rest of his squad that they would not interfere, he would engage the ninja. A few hundred yards behind him the ninja stealthily leapt from tree to tree, covertly shadowing their target, or so they thought. Meanwhile the Uchiha progressed unhindered through the forest, content with the soft almost inaudible rustling of his cloak, the sounds of his boots on the ground, and the accompanying birdsong.

Not feeling the chakra of his teammates for the last few minutes, Sasuke decided the time to act was now. In a lightning movement he drew a few shinobi throwing knives; kunai, and hurled them at the three ninja. Who until that moment had chosen to remain perched in various nooks and crannies the large tree branches provided them.

Their continued respite at an end the ninja sprang into action.

As he expected, they scattered, returning his throw with their own. A few clangs emitted from the forest as the opposing knives collided in mid-air and fell flat. Landing with a few smaller clanks on the forest floor.

Dropping to the ground the three ninja revealed themselves. Their fluid descent from the trees marked them as highly skilled. Each assume a crouching position lined up with their fellow two ninja.

"Impressive, Uchiha." One of them said. Stepping into the light Sasuke saw that she was yellow haired, about his own height, green eyes, and wore a fishnet style outfit, with a revealing bust-line, and a chest to rival Tunsade. Not that Sasuke particularly cared for such things; he had much more important matters on his mind. He noted further that if she was carrying some type of weaponry, it was concealed in some manner. "There aren't many that can tell we are shadowing them. When we do so."

With practiced ease, Sasuke slightly shifted his gaze; still keeping the first ninja in view he took stock of the second.

The girl to her right was sporting a much more colorful attire. Darker skinned, she wore a gray short sleeved dress, complete with a flak-jacket of her village, two yellow earrings, purple stockings, white soled boots, and her forehead protector on her head like a bandana. Across her back she carried a sword, with a red and white checkerboard handle. Her amber eyes glared back at him, equally studious.

To the other side of what Sasuke correctly assumed to be their leader was the only apparent male of the group. Also darker skinned, he wore a gray outfit with a hood, a pair of red bandage hand guards, and a pair of shin-protectors. In addition, over his shoulder he carried a sword of some type, with a red and white checkerboard handle. In his mouth he held a stick of some sort. It appeared to be some type of candy.

"Tch." Sasuke said smirking as he finished his two second appraisal of the ninja. It was nothing he could not handle.

"I won't waste time asking why you are here, I assume it is to kill me." Sasuke said, his matter of fact tone accompanying his facial expression "Your headbands indicate your village as the Village Hidden in the Clouds, or Kumogakure." He paused for a moment, waiting to see their reactions. For the moment they were patient, unmoving; but as the seconds passed the dark skinned girl minutely shifted her weight, Sasuke saw. Good, he could use that. Likely she was impatient.

"What I want to know is why were you sent to kill me?"He asked.

"You attacked our master." The dark skinned girl snapped out. Anger and fury evident in her voice as well as her eyes "And then you attacked the Kage of our village… Don't play coy with us, Uchiha."

"I've had about enough of this." The dark skinned girl said raising her voice to a shout._ I can't stand his insolent smirking._

"Omoi, let's get him!" Charging forwards she unslung the sword from her back, a katana from appearance, and clearing the distance between them in less then two seconds, slashed at the Uchiha in one movement. From behind her the protests of her teammates' rang out,

"Karui!" the one who was called Omoi protested as he watched her reckless advance, "Don't do anything rash…" Sasuke lost momentary track of either one of them as he ducked the sword jumping backwards as he blocked the blade on its' second swing with his arm guard before bringing his own sword out to block the third and strike back. Before he could do so, however, he felt a presence from behind him and had just enough time to duck and disappear to land a few feet away with a small thump as his shoes made contact with the ground.

"Good." He announced, looking at the two in front of him. _Where was the third? It was evident she wasn't in front of him, to his left? No._ He cocked his head slightly either direction. _To his right? Nope. Below_? He didn't feel anything as he let a little chakra into the ground as he spoke. _Which left…_ Thanks to his speed Sasuke had enough time to throw himself into a jump to his left as the third teammate came barreling from above, a Tanto pointed downwards at her opponent. Before his feet could even impact the ground the other two were upon him, forcing him to block mid-air as a katana whizzed by his head. Narrowly avoiding impacting its' intended target, it continued on an arc as its' owner brought it around preparing another strike.

Ducking as he hit the ground, Sasuke attempted to leg sweep his opponent only to be forced to block behind him as the girls' katana slashed at him from the opposite direction. Their teamwork was near flawless, he deduced and Sasuke quickly found himself both unable to make headway, but also able to defend against the pair. It was almost as if they could read his moves. But they didn't possess any dojutsu that Sasuke could see. No sooner would a weakness open up in one of them then the other one, almost as if sensing it, would pole-vault over their still moving comrade and block it. Despite this, neither one could find an exploitable defense in the Uchihas' guard as he battled both of them back and forth across the path. Panting slightly the two groups separated; the two Kumogakure ninja appearing back with their master in one jump. Sasuke simultaneously using his speed to appear as if teleported back a few feet. Between them a rift of about twenty feet formed.

"Tell me," Sasuke said, "Who do you get your information from?" His words broke the silence that threatened to continue to descend between the two groups as they eyed each other.

"Your old village." Their leader said simply, "Though we do not have as much as we would like… Your old comrades were most unwilling to sell you out." Her mouth curled downwards in a slightly unhappy expression.

"Hn… Tch…" Sasuke replied. "Books will only tell you so much… Sometimes, to get the real effect of something, you must experience it for your own."

"True…" Their leader agreed, "But so far our experience has not deviated from what we knew it would…"

"Hey, Karui." The man said as he momentarily rested. "What if, when we attack again we topple a tree, and that tree topples another… And then like a chain of dominos those trees topple others, until the entire forest collapses. And in doing so robs the forest of a home for the birds… And in turn the villages suffer from a lack of messenger birds which leads to another war?" As he spoke his contemplative gaze and posture directed itself at Karui.

He was cut off from further ponderances by a smack on the head from his teammate,

"Will you shut up!" Karui shouted as she withdrew her fist. She had covered the distance in a speed that surprised the Uchiha; for it was faster then she had shown before. Her chakra had indicated it, of course, but that did not mean that her training had allowed it._ Are they just toying with me? _Sasuke wondered. _The preliminaries were crucial to any battle. It determined the power of the two opponents, as well as how much energy one would have to expend in the fight. And how close they would come to dyeing in it._

"Ouch!" Omoi said, rubbing his head from the impact. For a moment he looked away from his teammate, thoroughly scared of her next move. Luckily for him it was a simply admonishment and no further blows rained down upon his head.

"What if, instead, we kill him." She supplied. Throwing a determined look in the Uchihas' direction as she spoke.

"Hmm, yes… But what if, in doing so we rob you for the chance of a husband?" Omoi asked. Once again he turned to look at his teammate.

"What?" Karui looked positively confused and horrified by the idea. Recoiling she stared at her teammate.

"What?" Omoi asked, "You said so yourself, he was cute…" Absentmindedly he twirled the stick of the lollipop he had in his mouth.

"Well, yes…" She flustered turning pink, "But that was just a momentary observation… He is the enemy of our village… And besides our mission is to kill him…" Fuming silently at her teammate Karui turned back to face the Uchiha fully.

Sasuke resisted the urge to cradle his face in his palm; these two seemed so much like Naruto and Sakura. In the middle of the battle they seemed more interested in their petty arguments then killing him._ Idiots._

He simultaneously resisted the urge to roll his eyes and shared a look with their leader that seemed to say "I feel your pain." Though he would never dare voice such a thing, even if he had thought it, as he glared at the only ninja currently staring at him.

"Well then." He said, "Let us see how much information you really have on me…" Sasuke activated his Sharingan; it was time to gain some advantage over the group without over exerting himself. As he gazed at the group, his lack of concern for their abilities showed through his gaze as Sasukes' onyx eyes changed into the bloodline limit of his clan; red replacing black as three tomoes' formed in each eye. Even if they had powers they were not showing, there was not a technique they possessed that they could hope to sneak past the Sharingan's ability.

"So that is the legendary Sharingan." Omoi remarked, looking at Sasuke. "It is said that one look will…" His voice trailed off. Instantly Omoi found himself weightless as the world swirled around him, two giant orbs of red inlay with three black tomoe filled the sky behind him. Around him, in seemingly endless eddies and ripples swirled tones of dark blues, purples, and blacks. Just looking at them made him dizzy. The only thing that seemed to be of some solid sustenance was the Uchiha in the Akatsuki cloak standing a few meters distant from him.

"Welcome to my illusion." Sasuke said simply. He watched as Omoi brought his hands together in a futile attempt to disrupt his chakra and dispel the illusion.

"Don't bother, it is pointless." Sasuke said continuing the same simple tone, "My illusion is stronger then your will to break out of it." Sasuke smirked, "In short, my skill is superior to yours."

"We will see about that." Omoi shouted. Drawing both hands together and interlocking his fingers Omoi tried as hard as he could to break the illusion. And found, to his dismay, he could not. Before he could reflect on the situation, things changed again for him.

In a brief second, Karui's face appeared next to his own. Head swimming Omoi blinked as the sky turned back to normal around him. A few more blinks served to bring the world back into sharp, clear focus.

"I was… caught…" He began, feeling sick to his stomach.

"Caught in an illusion." Karui finished for him,

"I know… I freed you." She removed her hand from his arm.

"Thanks." Omoi said shaking his head to clear the nausea.

It helped, but not enough. It would be awhile until his equilibrium returned to normal. Inwardly Omoi resented his momentary lapse. A strong genjutsu user was a thing to be feared, and the information provided to them had said Sasuke was just that. Before he could delve further into his thoughts he was interrupted by his teammates reply.

"Don't mention it." Karui flashed her teammate a grin before turning again to face the Uchiha. Her face becoming less cheerful as she directed her full attention on the enemy._ She could not allow herself to express the same carelessness that Omoi had demonstrated a moment ago._ Kurai inwardly resolved.

"Uchiha, your Sharingan may be legendary, but unfortunately for you, the counters for it are well known in our Village hidden in the Cloud." The leader spoke. Her own tone seemed to be the mirror exact of the Uchihas' previous one, only with a tinge of boredom. This time all three of them were careful not to look Sasuke directly in the eyes. "And even if that is not so, all information regarding you was passed onto us from Konoha, under the Hokage Danzo." Samui continued.

It was now her turn to evaluate the Uchiha. Dressed in a long Akatsuki robe of black dotted with red clouds, his well defined form was hidden. It was evident from his fighting that he wielded a sword, as well as ninja throwing knives. Neither of these realizations supplied much information, however. Swords were relatively common for most shinobi, and throwing knives were used by all but a select few. Therefore, the only thing left to do was observe him and wait for him to make the first move. However, after half a minute, he did not move so much as to twitch a finger. _So his battle style is not filled with impatience, _Samui noted._ The data was nothing new to her, but continued confirmation of the gathered information was vital if their plan was to prove successful._

"Karui." The leader spoke.

"I know, I know." Karui said, a tinge of mocking jest entering her voice "Let's get the jerk." She resolved with steel cold determination.

Raising both hands Karui quickly wove the necessary hand signs for the technique.

"Hidden mist technique." She said enthusiastically as large clouds of mist began to roll in over the grass. Quickly visibility was limited to a few feet. Sasuke stood still, allowing the mist to envelope him. Impassive, and unreadable the Uchiha quickly disappeared from view.

Before charging into the mist Karui shared a look with her team Captain. Samui nodded slightly and both Karui and Omoi moved into the mist at top speed, grateful for the silent confirmation. Samui herself took a few steps, but remained only on the verge of the mist. Inwardly she sighed;_ this was going to be a long battle, against what was shaping up to be an extremely dangerous opponent. Nothings' ever easy _she resolved silently._ Tack… How troubling…_

Karui glanced about as she came to a halt, she had been trained to fight in the technique before; it would have been stupid not to be if she intended to gain an edge by using the technique. Confirming that eyesight was indeed useless in the mist she closed her eyes. Behind her she could hear Omoi come to a halt, fanning out slightly to cover the distance in the mist.

_Where are you, Uchiha?_ She wondered as she took a few more steps towards his last known position. Now she was relying fully on her other senses. She had received years of training dealing with mist techniques, and so the cold clammy wetness that settled onto her exposed skin and clothing felt like a second skin to her. Instinctively she reached out, relying on her hearing to pin-point the Uchihas' location. In a few seconds she would be able to detect where the Uchiha had concealed himself, by his breathing alone. For now, she was able to sense any disturbance in her immediate area by merely feeling the air on her skin. There would be no way anyone could sneak up on her, not while she remained where she was, motionless and silent.

A voice from behind startled her, causing her to half turn.

"That was the wrong way…. To counter my Sharingan." Sasuke said. His voice carried with it the smallest hint of a smug undercurrent.

Instantly she whirled, eyes still glued shut, attempting to slash at him with the Katana.

However, with the aid of his eyes, Sasuke was easily able to avoid it, blocking it simply with his blade. A sharp ping resided through the mist as steel grated against steel. The two blades remained there, lodged together by opposing forces.

Now it was her turn to smirk.

"That was the wrong way… to block my blade." She retorted. Channeling lightning chakra through her blade she fully expected to hear at least a grunt of surprise, and the feeling of his blade snap in two. Unfortunately, she heard neither. Instead, she felt her own blade grinding against what felt like an immovable wall as she put more force into the strike.

"Techniques like that are useless before my Sharingan." Sasuke stated flatly. He seemed unimpressed.

"Damn you." She shouted. _ That technique had succeeded in ending many other shinobi, apparently this one would not fall pray to it. Well then, it was time to do something else._

"Now Omoi!" She continued.

Just as she withdrew her blade to strike again she felt the Uchiha whirl around to face a second attacker. _From the sound of it, it could only be Omoi. Even without his eyes he seemed to be holding his own against the Uchiha, and for a moment Kurai wondered if Omoi was just being toyed with before shoving that thought to the back of her mind._

With every move the pair made, wind was generated, which in turn scattered the mist about. Each time that happened, their movements became that much clearer. Calming her mind she felt for an opening. What felt like an eternity to her passed before she felt it. Opening her eyes she prepared to strike at the Uchiha's unprotected back as he fought Omoi off. Picking a spot between the two of the red clouds that adorned his robe she struck. Only to find him once again facing her, blocking her blade with unnatural speed_. Damn…_ She thought as he forced her backwards with a barrage of blows. Before he could press his advantage further, Omoi launched a combination of strikes with his katana, elbows, and knees that forced Sasuke to cartwheel over her head, blocking her upwards strike with the Katana as he did so. Momentarily he was able to put her in-between Omoi and him before Omoi rushed around to her right and tried to surround the Uchiha again. Meanwhile, she kept up the attack, forcing all of his attention on her before he struck out with a quick kick, knocking her back but doing minimal harm to her. Charging headlong at him again she cast another technique, "Lightning swords, illusionary binding." As she struck out again, her blade split in two at the last moment, glowing brightly as the blade plunged towards the Uchihas' chest. Karui smirked slightly; there was no way he could dodge that. Yet, somehow, he managed to do so.

_Damn it, _she thought,_ this mist is hindering us too much._ Even with her eyes the mist was too thick now to be able to ascertain movement from eyesight alone. She and Omoi had to rely on feelings first and foremost. She suspected from the way the Uchiha moved to counter their assault he had no such problems.

"Back." She shouted.

As one both Hidden Cloud Ninja disengaged and reappeared next to Sumai in one large jump.

For his part, Sasuke seemed content to disengage as well. The cloud ninja just sight of his still form as the mist filled the gap.

"Dispel the mist." Karui said. It was not a question.

"Go ahead." Samuai said.

"It looks like it is time for plan B." Omoi said. His unconcerned expression now began to belay a slightly more concerned one._ Plan A was supposed to have worked. It didn't matter though; they still had many other plans to enact._

Raising her hands again Karui dispelled the mist, to see the Uchiha standing in almost the exact same place as before.

"Damn it…" She ground out, "The jerk is mocking us… "

Sasuke simply stared. His impassive face a mask. _Swordsman._ He thought, quickly he ran down what he had learned of the Hidden Cloud Village Ninja,_ Most likely both can use at least some lightning techniques and water… In addition at least two, most likely all of them, specialize in Kinjutsu… Also, their teamwork is flawless. Furthermore, they correctly ascertained that to test my abilities, two of them were all that was needed. The third, unhindered by battle could hang back and freely observe for weaknesses in their target. Weaknesses which she could then relate to her teammates, or utilize herself, or both, to finish their mission quickly. _He thought for a moment,_ Should I end this quickly? Or play with them longer? _

"What do we know so far?" Samui asked. Her own observations had been hindered by the mist, to an extent.

"His fighting style has completely changed from before." Karui said. "The information provided to us is correct; however, in addition to his change in fighting style, he Is very fast."

"Anything else?" Samui asked.

"He is holding back."Omoi said. For once he seemed completely serious, and both his teammates took that as a bad sign.

"What! How can you tell?"Karui railed, looking at her teammate. For her part Samui remained mostly expressionless, but still cocked a head in moderate surprise at Omoi. It was rare that Omoi became serious and focused on a battle unless their opponent was extremely skilled.

"His movements…" Omoi said, by means of explanation, "It is as if this is all part of the plan for him. Even without his Sharingan, I think he is just toying with us…"

"So you finally figured it out?"Sasuke asked. Instantly all three Hidden Cloud Ninja's abilities were riveted on him.

"You kids aren't worth my full strength. I have been playing with you, testing my abilities… Trying to gage exactly how much energy I must expend to defeat you… If you continue this battle, I will not hold back my true strength, I will defeat you." His voice carried with it the same tone from earlier. Samui half expected Sasuke to shrug in indifference to the three of them._ His attitude was either a very good one, as over-confidence could be exploited in their favor; or, alternatively, it was a very very bad one as he had correctly ascertained that his full abilities outclassed their own. _Coupled with her information, Samui was confident it was the first.

"Bring it!" Karui shouted, she half turned to her teammates, "This guy… is really ticking me off." She clenched her fists, tensing up in anger.

"Very well…" Sasuke smirked.

In the blink of an eye Sasuke cleared the glade. In the next instant; appearing right next to Kamui. With one hand he lashed out, punching her in the chest. The force of the blow was enough to catapult the unfortunate ninja clear into the tree line.

"Karui!" Omai shouted in that instant, "Behind you!" Before he could finish Kamui felt herself airborne, before crashing into one of the nearby trees.

"Ugh…"She groaned as she slumped into a heap. Doing a mental calculation she determined nothing was broken. That didn't stop the pain that ran up and down her back, however.

Instantly Samui was beside her, "You okay?" She asked as she offered a hand.

"Er, yeah." Karui managed rising up into a shaky position on her hands and knees. Taking the proffered hand she pulled herself up. "Just got careless." She smirked. Almost instantly she regretted movement. In addition to the pain; as she stood up she felt the onset of dizziness overtake her.

The clang of blades could be heard across as Omoi and Sasuke ducked it out. Omoi was hard pressed to do anything but defend as he was driven back across the glade. Shaking off the dizziness Kamui waited, everything was going to plan.

"Now, Kamui!" Omoi said as in a sudden move, he grabbed Sasukes' sword arm with both of his, tucking the Katana next to his arm. Instantly Kamui appeared at his side, intending to impale Sasuke in the new opening.

Instead she was forced to recoil at the last second, finding Omois' body in place of her target, instead. Sasuke teleported away, leaving a frozen Omoi standing in place.

"What gives, Omoi!" Kamui asked. Omoi was unable to answer. Wordlessly he remained fixed in place, reminiscent of a life-sized scarecrow caught in the heat of battle.

_Was that a chidori current? _Kamui wondered as she checked her friend, and felt a residual electric current that caused her hand and arm to go numb._ But how? Omoi knows some lightning techniques, he should have been able to counter it with forewarning of the technique. The jerk is still not going full power… But I'll make that change._

"Samui!" Karui said, "I am going after him, protect Omoi."

"Yes." Samui said in acknowledgement, taking up a position near Omoi.

Charging forwards, with her Katana held firmly in both hands Kurui launched an arching upper right to lower left strike on Sasuke, only to find it blocked as she expected. She quickly retaliated with a kick towards the side of his head, then a slash towards his unprotected leg, and then she found herself on the ground. She tried to rise only to realize she could not. With an effort Karui turned to look at her shoulder and found Sasukes' blade through it. With that realization a variety of thoughts appeared in her mind. But she spoke only one.

"Damn you…" She hissed.

"Your Kinjutsu needs work." Sasuke said flatly. His eyes bored down into her own; showing no fear, only moderate annoyance… And something else…_ Sadness._ Her mind said, but instantly Karui shelved the thought._ What did a missing-nin such as him have to be sad about?_

Again Kamui tried to move, but found herself unable to. Tracing the line she realized why. Somehow he had managed to evade her guard and pierce her through the shoulder. Then from that, through to the ground. So even if she managed to free herself from the lightning, she still had to contend with being fixed into the ground.

Above her the Uchiha simply glared. First at her, and then at her teammates across the glade. Almost as if daring the still able member of team Samui to attack him. Or watch in helplessness as one of her teammates remained at his mercy.

"You jerk." Karui spat out, doing the only thing she could currently, which was to glare at him. To her dismay she found she could not even turn her head anymore. But that did not stop her trying.

She could feel the electricity continue to serge from the wound, numbing both the area around the wound, and her entire body._ So this is a chidori current?_ She wondered._ Well, he was right about one thing…_ She admitted though she had previously held similar thoughts._ It is one thing to read it in a book, and another to experience it in person._ Karui resisted the urge to cry out in happiness as Samui appeared, behind an apparently unaware Uchiha. Tanto lashing out towards the Uchiha in the same second. And then as Sasuke made to withdraw his blade to counter it, Karui saw her chance. Mustering up what energy she could, she grabbed the blade, holding it firmly with a grip Killer Bee had trained into her during over four years of intense training. It was not a lot, but the unexpected resistance forced Sasuke to let go of his sword and concentrate on blocking Samui's arm with both hands, as he pivoted around her, forcing her into the way of Omoi's strike. At the last second Samui ducked it, causing the Uchiha to block Omoi's Katana with his arm guard. At the second it made contact Omoi channeled electric energy into his blade, intending to increase its' cutting power. To his dismay however he found the Uchiha countering with pinpoint accuracy, releasing only enough electrical energy to counter the blade.

"Success." Karui beamed. Shakingly she sat up. As she did so she examined the blade for a split-second, _it was a good blade, good weight,_ she decided as she switched it around. Ignoring the cuts in both palms she stood up: a sword in both hands. And then promptly fell forwards. Managing to catch herself at the last moment by falling into a crouching position.

"Ohh, that jerk…" That was one thing the information had not been clear enough on, the after effects.

"Take this." Samui said. A hand appeared in front of her with two black colored pills.

"Thanks." Karui said, but Samui never heard it as she was already back battling the Uchiha.

Taking both pills, Karui felt better instantly. In fact, she felt better then she had in a long time. Soldier pills had that effect. Clenching both handles firmly Karui retook her position in the battle against the Uchiha.

In between dodging the three ninja Sasuke secretly wove the hand signs for a fire technique.

Jumping Samui's Tanto, before responding with an elbow to the face to Omoi, forcing him to block while simultaneously ducking, and allowing Sasuke to vault over him, Sasuke launched the fire technique, "Grand fireball: Fire technique." A large ball of fire erupted onto the stage, forcing the three ninja to scatter. Omoi narrowly avoided getting burned, managing to jump out of the way at the last second. Landing on his feet Omoi turned to face the others. Samui waved her hand indicating that they should move back.

The tree ninja regrouped at the edge of the forest.

"He is tough." Omoi remarked as he rested his back up against the tree. "Even without his sword we cannot make any headway."

"Looks like it is time to implement plan C." He continued.

"I hate his smirking." Karui remarked as she glanced at the Uchiha who did not seem the worse for wear from their encounter. He was casually standing still, watching the three ninja as they watched him. The only difference was his continued smirking.

"You two are starting to get tired." Samui remarked, "But I can detect no change in his chakra. The soldiers pills Karui consumed should give us the edge when we reengage…Tack…" She remarked, as an after thought "I didn't think it would be this hard…"

"Apparently Konoha does not lie when they bestow the title of Genius to someone…" Omoi pointed out.

"I guess not." Sumai agreed.

_Time to get serious,_ Sasuke thought._ I've wasted enough time on these idiots… _Drawing a handful of Kunii he threw them in quick succession. Before electing to use almost his full speed.

"Looks like the Uchiha has finally gotten serious." Omoi remarked as he watched the Uchiha disappear from view.

"Everyone stay on your guard." Samui ordered as the three scattered from the Kunai.

"Right." Karui remarked. She had elected to jump into the nearby trees' branches.

"Right." Omoi agreed from his position a few feet into the grass. He had jumped at an angle to avoid the Kunai and also place him into the correct position.

"Damn!" She exclaimed as she heard a thunk. Looking down she saw an explosive tag attached to the end of the Kunai. The sound gave her just enough time to jump clear before the explosive tag went off with a bang, causing the entire tree to come down. Similar kunai embedded themselves in the nearby trees, bringing them down in a tangled mess.

_Shadow shuriken technique. Clever._ Kurari thought._ Had she elected to counter the visible kunai in the conventional way, the second , hidden in the shadow of the first, would have hit her dead on._ She realized._ If she wanted to live past this battle, she couldn't underestimate the Uchiha again._

Karui just felt a presence behind her before she whirled about again, slashing both blades horizontally at the Uchiha. Rather then even blocking, he simply dodged them. Grabbing onto the blunt side of his blade as it passed, he used another chidori current to remove the blade from her numb arm. Then he disappeared as Karui felt a familiar set of hands on her unwounded shoulder as Omoi vaulted over her to land behind where the Uchiha had stood.

Sasuke reappeared approximately forty feet, cloak billowing about him as he skidded backwards "Fire style: Fire technique: Grand Fireball." Sasuke said coming to a halt. A ball of fire ten feet high erupted onto the open ground in front of him, racing towards the two near the forest. The ninja scattered; Omoi leaping high and to the left while Kurari went the opposite way, towards Samui. For her part Samui continued to race along the tree line, trying to draw the Uchihas' attention. Drawing some of her own kunai she hurled them at him, hoping to at least make him dodge. Instead, he simply sidestepped them.

Sasuke threw another handful of Kunai quickly, watching as Omoi dodged them in midair. It was the correct move, or so Omoi thought as he dodged in between the knives.

"Hn." Sasuke thought as he pulled on a wire with his teeth, and another two with his hands. "One down." The four Kunai arched in a semi-circle to land embedded into the tree behind. Too late Omoi saw what was happening; as the wires threaded between the kunais' became visible, wrapping themselves around his torso and binding him firmly. Before he could reach the distance to the tree behind him, Karui appeared in the air along side him. Slicing away the wires with her sword, and allowing Omoi to catch himself before he landed.

"Thanks." He remarked.

"Don't mention it." She echoed from before. On instinct she looked behind, towards where Omoi would have impacted the tree, there sat a cluster of explosive tags.

_When did he?_

Omoi caught her gaze and looked up. "I think this calls for a new plan." He remarked as they advanced: attention snapping back to the Uchiha in front of them. He was about twenty feet distant, but they cleared that gap in about four seconds.

A flash from his side alerted Sasuke to Samuis' presence half a second before she struck, cleaving through his shoulder, the Tanto lodging deep into the bone.

"Got you." Samui said with little emotion.

"Urgh." Sasuke cried out before falling face first.

To her horror as she withdrew the knife, the figure disappeared with a poof and a small cloud of smoke. Clattering to the ground in his place appeared a log.

Her teammates saw what she did not.

"Duck!" Omoi shouted at the same time Karui said the same. From the forest behind her whistled a collection of chidori needles. Sumai launched herself straight up to avoid them, as she did so Sasuke met her in mid-air, delivering a powerful kick to her unprotected shoulder. Turning she brought the Tanto around in an arc attempting to strike back, only to be blocked by the sword Sasuke held, before punching her in the stomach, sending her hard backwards. Fortunately, Omoi was there to catch her, arriving just in time to keep her from impacting the ground; back first.

Kamui appeared behind Sasuke while he was still about a foot from the ground.

"Let's see how you like it." She said as she struck out with her foot. Unfortunately for her, Sasuke caught it, even though it was behind him. Twisting his blade around behind him so the flat part impacted the sole of her boot. Pivoting he landed on the ground facing her. Before striking with the sharp part of his sword towards her, watching as she parried it, then striking at her with his free hand. She was fast enough, but not as fast as he was.

"Samui, are you alright?" Omoi asked as he gentle slid her to the ground.

"Yeah, fine." She said as she stood up.

"Good." Omio said, "Then let's help Karui."

Hn, everything is going to plan. Sasuke thought. Drawing on his full speed Sasuke struck out at Karui. She managed to parry the first few, but found her blade flying out of her hands. Seeing the opening, Sasuke lunged as Karui cringed. With a clang, Omio parried the strike with his own katana.

"Don't you know it is rude to strike a lady?" Omio asked.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. He parried the next two strikes by Omio: one to his head, one to his chest, easily. Jumping backwards as Omio took over Karui grabbed her sword from the grass and rushed back into the fight in time to stop the Uchihas' counterattack against Omio.

With the increase from the soldier pills Karui could feel her reactions quicken, but it still was not enough to keep up with the Uchiha at his present state. Even with two against one, both of them quickly realized they were slowly losing the fight.

Samui saw it too, and rushed back into the fight.

"This isn't working." Omio remarked as he just managed to block the Uchihas' blade from leaving a scratch on his face.

He poured lightning into the blade to make sure that his next offense would be that much harder to block.

"Plan D." Omio suggested.

"Agreed." Samui said as she attacked the Uchiha as he leapt into the air to avoid the swing of Karui's katana.

"Agreed." Karui said.

Omio pressed his attack with renewed vigor as the Uchiha hit the ground. Staying just a hairsbreadth away from hitting him as the Uchiha back flipped several times before parrying the blade and renewing the offense again. As he locked blades with the Uchiha Omio felt two familiar hands on his shoulders as Karui pushed off, to attack Sasuke from above while he did his best to keep the Uchihas' blade locked. At that same instant Samui came in from the Uchihas' side and tried to exploit a spot under his arm.

In that same instant Sasuke reached up with his free hand and used a lightning technique "Chidori sharp spear." He said simply. In his hand appeared an electrical blade, about four feet long. Raising it above his head in time he blocked Karui's blade. While at the same time he slid Omio's blade off to his side, stopping Samui's attack in the same move. Seeing an opening Omio attacked with a knee, only for Sasuke to push off of it as Karui landed, swinging her sword to cut a fraction of an inch under him. Flipping over Sasuke parried the reverse strike as he struck out with the lightning blade. Karui blocked as Sasuke expected, and as she did so the lightning blade spit into multiple ones, flowing seamlessly around the lightning Katana to impale Karui in the chest.

"Ahhh!" She screamed as she felt the blades pierce through her skin.

Leaping forwards Omio attacked Sasuke with renewed vigor as Karui collapsed panting. Fortunately for her, as she took stock of her injuries, the wounds were not very deep, but they hurt.

And what was more she could not stand. Her body refused to follow her command of "stand up." Instead preferring to launch itself forwards. Causing her to reside face-first in the grass.

In his rage Omio slipped up slightly in his attacks, something which Sasuke exploited. As Omio launched a particularly quick combination Sasuke sidestepped it, parrying as he did so. Channeling lightning through his blade again he impaled Omio through the only opening in his defense he could; his shoulder.

She had a feeling that Omoi was correct and that the Uchiha was about to not hold back anymore, and for some reason that scared her for a second. Until she blocked it out. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She was Bee's student, and she would make him proud today, by bringing him the dead body of a shinobi that had once attacked him. A kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Clouds.

"Argh!" Omio shouted as he grabbed the blade with his free hand, out of instinct, and felt it go numb as well. With his other arm he tried to weave the signs necessary for a counter lightning spell. But it was to no effect, his hands could not form the signs. His entire body went wooden as he sank downwards into a crouched kneeling position.

Samui took advantage of the situation to strike at the Uchihas' head from the side. Unfortunate for her he knew what she was going to do, before she did. And her speed was not enough to enact her plan before he reacted. Reaching his free hand up he blocked her Tanto with his arm guard before knocking it away out of her grasp. Now it was her turn to smile. Pulling on an unseen thread in her hand the blade jumped back, aiming for behind him. A quick lightning blade towards her, however, forced her to divert the blade into her own hand in time to parry the other.

While Sasuke was fighting with Omio, Karui had managed to stagger towards the fight as the combatants drew away from her. Her wounds were not very deep, but there were many, and the residual electricity left in her body made it hard to walk. Even a quick counter technique failed to produce any helpful effects. Once Omio got stabbed strength coursed through her veins,

"Damn him… Damn the Uchiha… They had to win." She decided then and there.

In front of her, Samui continued to fight. She was able to fight on near equal footing with him, as he remained with one hand on his sword, keeping it fixed in place in Omio's shoulder. The sight alone caused Karui to feel a fresh wave of anger.

"Lightning blade. Illusion of a thousand suns." Weaving the appropriate signs as she charged she continued, "Wind release, flight of a thousand sparrows." As she raced forwards her blade lit into a bright light, as Samui kept the Uchiha occupied as best she could with her Tano and free hand, Karui lunged, aiming for his chest. From the air around her a thousand sparrow shaped wind projectiles appeared, streaming in towards Sasuke. "Got ya." At the last second Sasuke kicked up off the ground. Keeping one hand on the sword he cart wheeled up and over Karui's sword, while catching the flat side of Samui's Tanto with the inside of his boot, diverting it from its' intended target as he landed, while using his free hand to parry the birds with a kunai in the same second.

"Wind shield." Samui said as she formed the appropriate signs in time to block the rest of the errant projectiles from hitting her. It seemed that it was time to pull out all the remaining attacks in her arsenal.

As Sasuke landed he spun around, pulling the blade free and turning around behind Omio he slashed downwards at the base of his neck. At the last second knocking the stunned Omio out with the hilt of his sword instead of the blade. With a groan Omio hit the ground.

"You… " Karui panted. "You killed him!" She glared at the Uchiha, her golden eyes filling with hatred… And something else, sadness too.

"Hn. I said I would not play with you guys." Sasuke said indifferently as he turned to face them.

Karui looked at her leader who nodded. _Emotionless jerk…_ She thought_, I guess the information was right, he really doesn't have any more emotions anymore. So he was wrong after all… I was a fool to trust him._

"Let's finish this." Karui said aloud.

"Right." Samui confirmed. "Uchiha, you will just now begin to witness the full strength of our power. You made a mistake just now… The death of our comrade has served to do nothing but spur us to greater heights. We will avenge ourselves… by defeating you!" Her eyes flashed for a moment before being covered up by her new emotionless exterior. It was something Sasuke did not miss.

_Hn._ Sasuke thought,_ just stalling, still, I suppose I should see what powers they posses when they fight without restraint… He mentally checked the surrounding area to confirm the chakra presence of his allies were far. They were still far enough that he was unable to detect them._

Before he had even thought it he was forced to launch himself into the air fast and long towards his left. With only the bare-presence of mind was he able to avoid Karui as she came up from his right, sword outstretched as she swung it impossibly fast at him. With some effort Sasuke managed to block it.

_Hn… Those pills she took earlier? Was she keeping the effect suppressed?_ He wondered as she touched down on the ground launching herself at him again while he flipped head over heels, landing on the ground and skidding backwards. Doesn't matter, an artificial increase in strength will never beat me… He ultimately decided as with a smirk he saw through her defenses. Blocking a strike first to the left of his neck, then right, then left again he caught her arm finally with a cupped hand, sword hanging a fraction of an inch from cleaving into his neck. She gasped out in-shock,_ normally, if it came to it, her speed increase put most opponents into the ground. The only one who was able to stop it before was Bee- sama…_ Sasuke smirked as he made to stab her in the stomach, only to be forced to divert his sword into blocking a renewed attack from his now open right side. _If he dropped her hand, Karui would strike him in his vital point. If he didn't Samui would be able to exploit a weakness and strike a vital point too._ As he turned his head he could already see Samui's attack forming up as a Kunai veered dangerously close to his back from her free hand. Unable to see he was blindsided by an elbow from Karui.

_Perfect…_

"Chidori… Current…" He said simply. He could feel Karui go limp as she simply fell away from him. Seeing what was happening, Samui quickly jumped backwards. Landing a good twenty feet from the Uchiha to keep from getting caught in the blast. Rotating on his heal he faced her now,_ One left…_

From behind he head a low chuckling, and then a few words, immediately he saw a hand snake out and with unnatural speed grab onto his arm. Then as he prepared a chidori current block he felt his own body go numb.

"Gotcha." Kurai said before disappearing in a flash of light. Her form melted away to show a body of bright light, so bright it caused Sasuke to look away, or at least, try.

_A… lightning clone…_ He thought.

From farther away he heard a voice approaching, even though he could not turn around he knew the speaker.

"Did you really think, Uchiha…" She drawled, "That after confirming your technique we would not devise a way to defeat it? What is more… That we would fall for it?"

Coming around to his front, she faced him, standing only a few inches from his prone form. The light faded, but the numbness did not. Simultaneously, with a brief gust of wind, Samui appeared from behind him.

Drawing her sword again Karui aimed it at his heart, drawing it back with a shout she lunged at Sasuke. While from behind, Samui made to strike at his chest with her Tanto. Unable to stop Sasuke simply awaited his fate as his sword slipped from his grasp to fall onto the ground.

Sasuke felt another gust of wind as Karui cried out in surprise, and then a male voice spoke.

"Stop, Karui, Samui." The voice said simply and calmly. Though Sasuke could not see it one arm of the man wrapped around Karui's wrist, blocking her sword as it hung a few inches from its' mark. The other simultaneously held Samui's strike from connecting.

"You!" Karui shouted turning to look at the speaker."What the hell is the meaning of this?"

"A cruel trick, Uchiha." She said, "I knew you were good, and cruel, but this? This is so far past the line…" She struggled to break free from his grip, but the man hung on tighter. Not too tight as to hurt her, just enough to keep her from succeeding. "You're dead…" She said a few seconds later.

"You are wrong, Karui." Omoi said. "I assure you this is no trick."

"But… how…?" She asked still continuing to struggle. But gradually she began to slow down.

"Look behind me." Omoi said.

Looking Karui was momentarily surprised, but after a second stopped struggling, allowing her sword to lower slightly as she did so.

"I thought you were…. Dead." She said. Samui likewise lowered her Tanto, having followed her teammates view.

"Dead…" Omoi echoed, "Yes, the enemy… er, the Uchiha, held every advantage necessary in that second necessary to bring about my death… But for whatever reason did not…"

He looked at Samui and Karui in turn, "I would like to hear why he did not do so…"

"Fine." Karui said reluctantly.

"Okay." Samui said.

"But afterwards, we kill him… The effect will not last much longer." Karui continued.

"Then I will be brief." Omoi agreed letting go of his teammates wrists.

Both hung their weapons at a lower stance, but did not put them away as they withdrew to optimal distance from the Uchiha.

"Uchiha." Omoi began, "You know what question I want to ask you… Why did you not kill me?"

Sasuke motionlessly checked if he was able to speak, his jaw moved so that was a good sign.

"Hn…" Sasuke said indifferently, "Why would you say that I didn't?"

"He is stalling." Karui said dangerously low, "Omoi, be quick, or he will be freed."

"More to the point," Sasuke said, "What does it matter? I am an enemy of the Village Hidden in the Clouds… I give you my answer and you will still kill me."

"That much is true," Omoi said, "But a life spared incurs a life debt upon the one who spared it." Omoi continued, "A debt which can be paid in but one way… Therefore…"

"No!" Karui shouted, causing Omoi to wince, "He is an enemy! He must die! You cannot sabotage the mission, Omoi!"

"Omoi is right…" Samui said, "However, the debt does not extend to us, and technically, in a few moments it will have been satisfied… Let Omoi continue at the end of this we can resolve what to do."

"Fine!" Karui huffed, "But don't expect this to go well… You blew our best chance…"

"Be that as it may…" Omoi finished,

"Uchiha, I pronounce you to be allowed to escape these bonds on pain of answering four questions."

Sasuke knew he was in no place to disagree,

"Fine." He answered coldly, "I accept."

"Very well…" Omoi crossed his arms.

"Why did you spare my life?"

"I did so on a whim." Sasuke said with a tone of smugness.

"That doesn't strike me as very likely." Omoi countered, "But regardless, next question, if you are allowed to be free of the lightning charge that currently roots you to this spot, will you kill the three of us when you are free?"

"What kind of question is that?" Karui shouted again, her fist clenched in anger and frustration, "Of course he will!"

"Patience, Karui." Samui said more quietly then her teammate. "Let Omoi speak."

"Depends…" Sasuke said… "Besides…" His head snapped towards Omoi, "I am already free."

A gasp of shock emitted from the three. Before they collapsed on the ground.

"Hn." Sasuke said simply as he pulled his sword from the ground. Flicking the dirt and blood off of it by turning it in a quick circle he turned on his heel. He had to be quick; the technique would only give him six seconds at best to escape.

"Hey!" Karui shouted at him, eyes quickly tracking to follow his movement.

"Hn." Sasuke said again, smirking as he looked over his shoulder at her before, in one move, turning back and jumping off into the surrounding forest. Leaving in his wake three equally surprised Hidden Cloud ninja. One of whom was extremely angry.

"Let's get him!" Karui shouted at her teammates, despite their close proximity. She was still unsteady as she rose to her feet before falling down again. Damn the Uchiha, damn him.

"Chill out, Karui." Omoi said calmly as he rested in a seated position. With a slowness that aggravated Karui he continued looking first at her, then at the grass in front of him with apparent indifference.

"You are in no condition to fight… Once the pills effects wear off and your body returns to its' normal state you will become exhausted and fall."

"Shut up!" Karui shouted as she tapped into the energy the pills gave. Instantly she felt better, in fact she felt as though she could jump clear over the trees if she wanted to. "I am going after him, and there is nothing you can do to stop me." Turning triumphantly on her heel she leapt into the trees to pursue her target.

"Wait, Karui!" Omoi protested, attempting to rise, but falling backwards instead. With a grown he turned to Samui who also was sitting.

"Why does she always have to be so rash?" He protested as he sighed.

"I don't know…" Samui said in a voice that indicated she was deep in thought.

"What I do know is worrying for her is wasted energy… Instead we should concentrate on becoming fit enough to pursue her before she manages to make contact with the Uchiha."

"Alright…" Omoi agreed. "So, what plan have you been formulating?"

Samui grinned slightly, Omoi may be relaxed, but he was far from being dull.

"Well…" She began.

Without a care Sasuke continued through the forest, his cloak billowing around him as he jumped from tree branch to tree branch, quickly speeding away from the glade. After a minute or two he became aware of a presence following him._ It was the woman from the glade; her teammates had called her Kurai. _Sasuke recalled._ What business did she have following him?_ Instantly a myriad of answers came to him, but he brushed it away, speculation would not do much. Instead, he veered for a glade he had memorized the existence of not two days ago when he had surveyed the surrounding topography of the area he may wish to travel through just in case such an event as an assassination squad or two had decided to ambush him.

Leaping to one final tree he waited. Taking the time as the opposing ninja quickly came closer, Sasukes' eyes swept the grass for anything he could use to his advantage when she arrived. Nothing came to his eyes. It was a simple clearing, dotted here and there with the occasional tree. With the vast open area being covered with grass a few inches thick.

Behind him he felt the chakra source stop on a branch about a dozen feet behind him.

"So?" Sasuke said coldly without turning around. "Why are you perusing me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Karui snapped from behind him. "I want to kill you."

"Hn." Sasuke said. "I warned you back at the glade that I would not hold back… I amended that policy twice; there will not be a third time…" He paused for a moment, "And your allies will not arrive in time to save you, either… If you fight me, you die."

"Hn." Karui said in a tone saturated with arrogance and confidence, "I don't need them… You're all mine, Uchiha… "Inwardly Karui paused as she could feel the strength of the pill ever so slightly ebb from her system. She had tapped into it to cover the distance to her target that much faster. The words of Omoi came back into her mind, "The effects of the pill will wear-off and you will collapse shortly after." _Hn, just means I have to win this that much faster._ She resolved.

Tightening her fingers on the hilt of her Katana she attacked.

More swiftly then she would have given credit to him he jumped forwards throwing two kunai behind him before he handed. She blocked them with the flat of her sword before continuing on. Vaulting from the branch downwards, she faced the Uchiha in the open. Tapping more into the energy from the pill she raced towards him, sword now imbued with lightning chakra as she slashed downwards at him. An inch before it made contact he dodged backwards. With a scream of rage, born from frustration she slashed out again. This time he blocked it with his sword, channeling lightning energy into it as they collided. With a clang the two blades met with a ferocity that caused Karui's hands to go slightly numb from impact.

"I told you…" Sasuke said coldly. "Before my eyes such attacks are meaningless…"

"Now, behold, the true strength of my Sharingan."

Effortless, with a succession of strikes that Karui could just barely see he began to drive her back across the glade.

_Time to finish this._ She thought. Tapping fully into the pills power she could feel her muscles bulge and her eyesight become more acute. Now she could see the sword strikes as if they were only slowly moving them. Blocking them shouldn't be a problem.

Waiting until the next one was almost upon her she blocked it at the last second with the flat of her blade before striking out with her fist. The speed caught the Uchiha off guard and the blow rammed into his solar-plexus. Which, in addition the to the raw force of it which sent him flying backwards across the glade, served to make it that much harder for him to stand.

"Not… bad…" He managed, glancing up at her with uncaring eyes.

_Damn it you jerk, show some emotion at least_. She thought,_ he should at the very least be cowering for his life. No one had ever forced her this far. Just one look at her should have made him run, tail tucked securely between his legs. Well… that would shortly change._ Taking two steps she covered the distance to him faster then in his wildest dreams he would have thought possible. The next salvo of blows afforded him only milliseconds to avoid. As a result bigger and deeper scratches began to appear. First on his arms and chest, then on his legs, neck, and face as well. As he fought vainly to keep her attacks at bay.

_I was hoping not to use this…_ Sasuke thought reluctantly as he narrowly avoided having a tendon cut by reflexively jerking it so that the blade snapped across his arm guard instead of flesh._ But if I don't I will likely suffer a lot more damage._

_Hn, her sword skills are troubling…_ Sasuke decided in that moment as he just narrowly avoided having his head chopped off. Ducking low the blade just grazed his hair.

His red eyes, with three tomoes' each, instantly took on a different appearance as additional black lines took their place while the tomoes' disappeared. Three intersecting ellipses appeared, foreshadowed from behind by a design that was of three tomoes' but with an intersecting line meeting in the center.

"Tsukuyomi." Sasuke said simply as he fixed Karui directly with his right eye while shutting his left.

Instantly Karui felt the world shift and blur around her.

_Damn Genjutsu._ She mentally berated herself;_ I should never have looked him in the eyes… Even if it was accidental, _she reminded herself.

From the sky thudded down twelve spikes covered in rust, easily pinning her in place on the shifting blackness that counted for a floor in the illusion. Karui let out a sharp gasp as the spikes descended, expecting to feel an unimaginable amount of pain accompanying them. Instead, save for a few scratches, they embedded themselves firmly into the floor without further incident.

"Well, Uchiha, this is a surprise." Karui said sarcastically, "And here I was expecting endless amounts of excruciating pain…"

"Out with it Uchiha, what game are you playing?"

"No game." Sasuke said simply. Behind him the sky came to a halt, resolving itself into a stationary pattern.

"Then why the illusion?" She queried.

"Hn." Sasuke said in response, "This was the only place we could talk in private… It is also the only place where you will not try to kill me… At least for the moment."

"Talk in private about what?" She shouted, doing her best to get free of the spikes, but finding the struggle to yield little results.

"About why you are following me…" Sasuke said.

"I already told you…" She spat out with all the emotion he was not showing,

"You are on our kill list… And besides we volunteered for the mission."

Seeing his emotionless face not raise even an eyebrow she continued,

"As I said before, you assaulted our master, and our Kage… We promised when we first heard about it; when we thought you had actually captured him and gave him to Akasuki, that we would then and there hunt you down and kill you."

"Hn, well, with your power level, with your current skill, regardless of if you work solo, individually, or as a group, you will fail." Sasuke replied, "And when that happens, you will die."

"Tch." Karui, "You cannot see the future… We will bring about your death." Her tone sounded somewhat hallow even to herself. _The Uchiha had multiple times to kill both herself and her teammate, yet for whatever reason did not. He was right, on some level,_ she admitted._ Damn him._

"Hn…" Sasuke replied continuing with a cold tone, "Perhaps… However, from here on out I will no longer be playing childrens' games with you… As I said, I have pardoned you and your team twice. I will not make a third amendment. When I release you, you have two options: Flee and cling to life, return to your village for reinforcements and additional training. Or…" He paused, "Stay and die at my hand…"

"You forgot option C!" Karui said half jokingly, "You die, and we return to the village with your lifeless corpse."

"Hn." Sasuke said, and with that the world around her resolved back into its' normal state with dizzying quickness.

The Uchiha still stood close to her, Karui realized, but he hadn't made a move yet. It was as if he was waiting for her to do something._ Well, do something she would._ Lunging forwards with her Katana in one hand she went for his neck with the other. In the meantime she focused on his feet, she would not be caught in another illusion.

Her only warning of his next attack was a softly spoken "Amaterasu." And then she felt an intense burning on her body that did not compare to anything she had ever felt before. Fire burns were one thing, this was something else. Instantly her entire body felt as if it was on fire, her skin burning off of the bone. All of this caused her to let out a painful "Ahhhh!" Before she blacked out.

"Hn." Sasuke said, retracting the black flames from the prone figure._ That had been too easy, _he thought as he surveyed the scene.

An instant later he realized why as he detected the familiar chakra signature residing in the forest.

"Hn." He thought as he stabbed downwards at the prone figure, who disappeared with a puff of smoke. Replaced now by a log of about a foot in diameter. Semi-contemptuously he placed his foot on the log before withdrawing the sword. Uncaringly he made to sheath is sword and leave the arena. As he did so he checked again on the forest, noting the chakra signature had not changed one. Half turning he bent his legs slightly before leaping off into the forest.


End file.
